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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30132561">Leaving the Nest</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/analyticamethyst/pseuds/analyticamethyst'>analyticamethyst</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What Happens After [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s03e22-24 The Last Adventure! (Disney: DuckTales), Family, Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s03e22-24 The Last Adventure! (Disney: DuckTales), Spoilers for Episode: s03e22-24 The Last Adventure! (Disney: DuckTales), major finale spoilers, the conversation they need to have after the finale, wrote this instead of my math hw lmao</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 16:40:40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,482</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30132561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/analyticamethyst/pseuds/analyticamethyst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Webby is growing up. After the revelations of The Last Adventure, she and Beakley sit down for a much-needed conversation.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bentina Beakley &amp; Webby Vanderquack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>What Happens After [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2217684</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>75</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Leaving the Nest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="">
  <p></p>
  <div class="">
    <p> </p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Granny’s posture is as immaculate as always, but her knuckles grip the pan just a little too tight. To an outsider, she would seem the perfect picture of serenity, but Webby knows the tells that give her away too well.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Of course she does. Granny is Webby’s favorite person in the entire world.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Webby’s family has grown and grown over the last few years, and she wouldn’t trade that for the world. But if it came down to it, Granny is more her family than anyone else. Even the boys. Even Dad.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“Dear, I think we should talk about… the other day,” Granny trails off, awkward and lame. It would be disorienting to see Granny, normally so put-together and articulate, struggling with words. But a couple days ago, Webby saw her chained and captured, crying and beaten, forced to spill her darkest secrets and then knocked out. Manipulated. Nothing Granny does can faze her in quite the same way.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Webby takes a deep breath. “I… I think so too,” she says. “But, honestly, I don’t have anything to say. You’re my Granny.”</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>Granny’s shoulders slump in relief before she catches herself, her decades of SHUSH training snapping in, and she reorients herself to her ever-present poker face. </p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“I’m not, you know,” Granny says quietly, her voice full of shame. Webby stiffens, and glances away before Granny can see the tears pooling in her eyes. “I- I stole you from a SHUSH compound. The photos you have of your parents were a lie. Just another lie among many.”</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“I don’t care,” Webby snaps, with more anger in her voice than she intended. But as soon as the words are out of her mouth, she realizes that she truly does feel that anger. Not towards Granny herself, but towards the notion that Granny isn’t her grandmother.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="">
    <p>“You’re my grandmother,” Webby declares passionately. “I don’t care if you’re not related to me. I don’t care if I’m a clone of Dad. You stole me from a FOWL compound because you cared about me from the moment we met. You gave up your entire life and a career you’d been working towards for decades for me. You raised me. You locked yourself in the mansion to keep me safe. You’re my grandmother.”</p>
  </div>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m happy to hear that, dear,” Granny says in the softest of whispers. “More than you could ever know.” Webby thinks she hears Granny’s voice catch, but she can’t be certain. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“But I lied to you, even after I promised I wouldn’t,” Granny continues, her tone more subdued. She crosses her hands in her lap, making a controlled effort to smooth them out. “You have every right to be angry with me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Webby reaches forward and takes her grandmother’s hand in both of hers. “I do,” she agrees. Granny’s head snaps up and she stares at Webby, eyes wide. Webby shrugs nonchalantly, shoulders loose, emulating Louie’s calculated facade of easy calm without realizing it. “But that’s not the kind of person I am, Granny.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Webby glances away, pursuing her lips. She can’t bear to watch Granny’s face twist in pain. “I… I am frustrated that you lied to me and broke your promise,” she says slowly, haltingly, choosing her words carefully. She’s walking a thin line, basically a tightrope with no net, of expressing her feelings and not upsetting her Granny. “Just don’t do it again, please.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny’s face softens. “Of course, Webby dear. No more secrets.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She reaches out to hug Webby, and Webby obliges, but she says stiff. “That’s what you said last time,” Webby mutters into Granny’s shoulder. Her words are almost too soft to be heard, but judging by the way Granny stiffens, she does.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny pulls back, her hands still on Webby’s shoulders. She opens her mouth a few times, frantically searching for words, some kind of placating promise that she didn’t already break.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p> “You’re right. Of course,” Granny acquiesces at last, hanging her head. Strands of grey hair drip out of her bun by the pull of gravity. Webby swallows thickly, bile pooling in her throat. Granny is reacting perfectly, yet all she does is remind Webby of when they were stuck together in a dark FOWL interrogation room, a wall of pain and deception painfully thick between them.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Webby reaches out a small hand to touch Granny’s shoulder. “Granny, please,” she whispers. She’s not sure if Granny understands the true meaning behind her plea in its entirety, but she pulls herself back together nonetheless. For a few minutes, silence hangs between them. It’s not a comfortable silence, but it’s not stifling, either. It’s just… anticipatory.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I can’t simply promise that I won’t lie to you anymore,” Granny says at last. Her voice is quiet and subdued, but honest and vulnerable. It’s open in a way Granny rarely is. “But I will do better from now on. I’ll prove my sentiments through actions, not empty promises.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Webby smiles gratefully. It’s not her usual wide, face-splitting grin, but it’s soft and vulnerable, with layers and meaning behind it. “Thanks. I… I want to know things. About SHUSH. Classified things. The parts of my past you could never tell me, and new information, too.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny’s gaze shoots away. “I-I can’t,” she replies immediately, and Webby’s heart drops. It must show in her face, because Granny’s own twists with guilt. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I- Well- I suppose I did just promise to, didn’t I,” Granny says, half to herself, with a small chuckle. There’s little humor behind it, but it’s fond. “I will do my best, Webbigail. But please understand that there is some SHUSH information that is simply beyond my classification to give you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I understand,” Webby says simply. “But the information you can give me… I want to know, Granny.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny’s fists clench and unclench in her lap. Webby knows how uncomfortable and out of her depth she must feel. She protected Webby with her life for years by hiding these secrets, and it takes time to undo such habits. But she’s trying, and that’s all that Webby cares about. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Do you remember the day I met the boys?” Webby asks, her voice lighter and more casual than she feels. There’s a pit of fear steadily growing in her stomach, but her voice is blessedly steady. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny’s smile is small but fond. “You snuck out,” she replies, a hint of reproach in her voice, but no malice. It’s a wound long since healed, leaving only a soft scar as a reminder that it existed at all. “You ignored my number one rule and left the mansion for the very first time.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah, and it was new and scary,” Webby replies lightly, ignoring the jab. “But you let me go, because you knew it was for the best. Because I was growing up.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Because Mr. McDuck could keep you safe,” Granny adds pointedly, but she’s smiling, if a bit pained.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Yeah, and he did! I’m fine, Granny. Besides, I can keep myself safe.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Tell that to the you that landed yourself in FOWL headquarters with all your allies captured and no real clue what was in store for you,” Granny quips. “My worst nightmare, come alive right in front of my eyes.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I’m sorry,” Webby mutters, dropping her gaze to her feet. “But hey, if you’d told me the truth, maybe I wouldn’t have been so misinformed.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny dips her head. “You make a good point. I concede that one.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Anyway, that’s just what this is like,” Webby continues. “It’s a big change. But it’s a necessary one. I’m ready for this, Granny.  You are too. And in time, this’ll feel completely normal, and we’ll have forgotten what it was like to live like we are.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny is silent for a few moments. Webby glances up, nervous, only to find Granny smiling proudly, and wiping a small tear away under her glasses.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Webby, dear, you are so wise,” she says, her voice thick. Webby’s heart clenches. “Aren’t I the one supposed to give you the deep, heartfelt talks and inspire you, and not the other way around?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Webby gives her a small smile. “You’ve done it before, Granny. Don’t sell yourself short.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny sniffles rather uncharacteristically. Without warning, she lunges forward and scoops Webby up in a tight hug. “Oh, my dear,” Granny says, her voice choked with tears. “You are just <em>lovely</em>, you know that? How did I ever get so lucky to have you for a granddaughter?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Well, it’s partly because of you,” Webby says, smiling into her grandmother’s back. “You raised me.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Granny nods into Webby’s shoulder. “And it was lovely.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>When Granny finally pulls back, she tugs Webby back to face her, her hands on Webby’s shoulders. “You’re growing up,” she says thickly. “Oh, Webbigail, I am so proud of you.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Webby beams at her grandmother. “I’m proud of you, too.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“<em>Oh</em>,” Granny says thickly, and hugs her again.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HEY REMEMBER WHEN I SAID I WOULD WRITE THE CONVERSATION WITH WEBBY AND BEAKLEY WELL HERE IT IS :D (rip my poor math homework i’ll be up all night finishing that ugh)</p>
<p>i wrote this in like,, 45 minutes because i had to get the few sentences i was thinking about down before i forgot them and just,, kept going lmao. rip the webby &amp; lena convo story i’ve been chipping away at that is going absolutely nowhere rn. i’ll get to it</p>
<p>webby and beakley’s relationship is SO important to me. beakley literally gave up everything for webby. it’s so obvious how much beakley cares about her, but also,,, they had this entire episode about trusting each other and then beakley promises not to keep any more secrets from webby and she has absolutely zero intention of keeping it. that always gets me. especially since webby is one of the most trusting characters of all time and would never doubt her grandmother of all people after they made up. i’m not salting on beakley or anything, but it’s very interesting to think about going forward since beakley will obviously try to do better, especially once the major factor keeping her quiet is gone, but she really doesn’t have a leg to stand on since she broke her promise. definitely an interesting concept we should talk about more</p>
<p>we talk a lot about how scrooge never apologized to webby after telling her she wasn’t family in last crash of the sunchaser and she immediately forgave him. scrooge def should’ve apologized but it’s interesting to note that webby basically can’t and won’t hold a grudge for the life of her, at least when it comes to the people she cares about (she definitely can with goldie DJDFKLSLDF). it’s sweet. i imagine beakley feels incredibly guilty after the finale but webby’s just ready to move on and to enter a new chapter of their lives where they’re completely honest and open with each other. i don’t imagine she’s not upset at the deception, but she’s not mad.</p>
<p>also man that interrogation scene? that probably traumatized webby. man. what a shitty situation to be in i can’t even imagine.</p>
<p>beakley and webby’s relationship will always mean the world to me, especially with the added context of their backstory. beakley literally saw one (1) baby and was like i’m about to end this man’s (me) whole career LMAO. it’s incredible.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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